Out To Lunch
by FallenCrimsonStar
Summary: One-shot. Rikku and Gippal's lunch date is interrupted. But food isn't the only thing on their minds! Read and love!


**!READ THIS FIRST!**

**A/N: Okay, first things first, I know that Brother's name, Aniki, actually means "older brother" or whatever in Japanese. But it sounds so feminine that I couldn't resist taking a poke at it in this fic. So don't complain when I make the comparison!**

**Next, both because I'm lazy and because you as the reader of this FanFic shouldn't have to refer to your Al Bhed Encyclopaedia every time an Al Bhed in this story speaks, I've decided to underline where the language is Al Bhed and not English.**

**Happy reading!**

OUT TO LUNCH

Rikku was under the turbine engine of yet another broken down hover when Gippal called out to her in Al Bhed. _'That man!'_ She thought irritably.

He was getting on her last nerves, interrupting her every five minutes, and for the most ridiculous reasons. Last time it was about some spare parts she'd _told_ him to order last week that he'd just remembered about, and the time before that, he'd wanted her help with cleaning a sentry machina that was actually a one person job.

She had just been musing on the new concept Shinra had proposed to her, about an air propulsion system for the hovers as a cleaner, safer form of fuel, when her thoughts were interrupted, _again_.

She groaned and slid out from under the hover and sat up, frustrated. 'What?'

'Calm down, Cid's girl!' He stood over her, looking pleasantly down at her.

'_He probably thinks it's charming,'_ she thought grumpily.

'I _told_ you to stop calling me that.'

'Where's the sweet, spirited girl I love so much?' He asked.

'Check under the next hover. What do you want?'

'You hungry? I'm heading out for some grub.'

Rikku was surprised. She was expecting something, like a frivolous comment or at least something that required her mechanical expertise. She stared up at him half-heartedly. 'Um, no, not really.'

Gippal smiled. 'Come on. You've been under that grease bucket all day. It'll be here when you get back.' He offered his hand. 'My shout.'

She stared at his clean, fingerless gloves and pulled a face. 'Have you even been doing any work?'

He shrugged, not moving his hand away. He wiggled his fingers. 'Come on, I'll cheer you up.'

'_I have been feeling unusually grumpy lately,' _she thought, sighing heavily. Then said, 'oh, alright.'

Gippal helped her to her feet and pulled her into a drawn out, affectionate kiss. 'That's better, right?'

Rikku smiled. '_That_ is what was missing from this lunch invitation!'

'You've never needed an invitation before,' he teased.

She grinned. 'Well, that was before I could kick your ass. I think we both know who'd end up on top this time.' Her face turned beet red. 'No, wait, that's–'

He couldn't help his own grin. Just the thought of the implication behind her words was enough to give his face an embarrassing coloured tinge. 'Yeah, well, maybe later.'

'Gippal!'

Before Rikku could retort or come up with a viable defence for her slip, an Al Bhed technician was calling out for the Machine Faction leader. His name was Haryu and Rikku had known him since before her mother had died. His best friend had been Keyakku, Rikku's late cousin on her mother's side. The three of them had gotten into so much trouble as children, but neither Keyakku nor Haryu would let her brother join them. The boys would tease him behind his back and call him a girl – his real name, Aniki, had been the same as their grandmother's. Apparently, their parents – Cid and Arrika – had thought he was going to be a girl. And of course, he had never liked his name and insisted everyone just call him Brother.

Rikku sighed, disappointed as Haryu came out of the office building, and strode over to them. And he had always liked Rikku, in that same special way _she_ had been thinking about Gippal since the first time they'd met, at her mother's funeral. There had been no sending ceremony for Arrika.

'_Well that's Yevonites for you,'_ she thought. _'Don't dare worry about anyone but themselves.'_

Haryu glanced at Rikku, as he always did, and then spoke to Gippal in Al Bhed. _'__Nhadala is asking for you. She said she has something important to ask of you__.' _He inclined his head to Rikku._ '__Both of you__.'_

'Aww!' She griped. 'Can't it wait? We're hungry.'

Gippal narrowed his good eye at her questioningly. She hadn't seemed hungry before. He wondered if Haryu made her uncomfortable. Or maybe she didn't want to ride all the way to Luca, then hop on a ship just to go out to Bikanel and miss out on the new menu they had on here at the former Djose Temple. She _had_ been working pretty hard lately, and needed a time out. She had clearly forgotten that Haryu only spoke and understood Al Bhed.

Realising her mistake, Rikku mumbled, _'__she can wait, can't she? I skipped breakfast and I need food__.'_

Haryu shrugged his shoulders. _'__I don't think so. She said it had something to do with base camp security__.'_

'Oh brother,' she said (Gippal smiled at her frustration), and then switched back to Al Bhed. _'__Tell her to hire someone to get rid of the fiends. We're not free service Fiend Hunters__.'_

That was another thing that had changed since Tidus had come back to Yuna, and Paine had run off with Baralai – the emergence of Fiend Hunters. Kind of a new spin on the Sphere Hunter name, they were groups of people contracted out by the Youth League as security or as escorts for what Nooj was calling "travelling civilians".

Gippal sighed. _'We can get something to eat on the way,' _he said in Al Bhed.

Rikku groaned at him. 'You're your own boss. Since when do you come running when she calls?' Her stomach groaned. 'Oh, great, if my tummy doesn't get its own way, it'll eat me from the inside out.'

Gippal laughed, and took her hand. _'__I have a contract__,'_ he said._ '__Nooj isn't the only one who has promised to hunt fiends. Come on, let's go. If we don't, I'll never hear the end of it__.'_

Haryu glanced at their hands. _'__You had best hurry. She is in a foul mood__.'_

'_She's not the only one__,' _Gippal said, cocking his head to Rikku, who snapped at him. _'__I am not!__'_

She thought about it though, as both men stared expectantly at her. She finally decided it would be nice to return to her _hunting_ roots. Rikku bounced softly on the spot, slightly giddy despite herself. 'Oh, okay. I do enjoy hunting _fiend_.' The thanks and attention couldn't hurt either. 'Maybe, if it all works out, I'll get some gil and finally be able to pay Yunie back for that machina of hers I totally wrecked.'

'_And maybe become a star in the process!' _She thought excitedly.

They left Haryu behind, "borrowing" a hover to get to Luca. There were no sea-side ports north of the Blitzball capital and only Al Bhed ships sailed west of the mainland.

When they arrived in Luca, Rikku refused to go any further until she'd had a decent lunch. The cafe in Luca Square was bustling, as always and they enjoyed themselves, watching the reruns from last season's Blitzball tournament. She wondered briefly if Tidus was going to join the Besaid Aurochs again, like he did three years ago. It would make for some spectacular PR Campaigning, that's for sure.

Rikku giggled softly. 'What's on your mind?' Gippal asked in the middle of biting into his baguette. It was an Al Bhed favourite, and another example of how quickly the world had changed since the downfall of the Yevon temples. Fine cuisine aside, there were many Al Bhed customs that were fast becoming all the rage. Riding hovers instead of chocobos had just been the start of it all.

She shrugged, not wanting to display the same vulgar table manners as her boyfriend. Once she had finished, Rikku sat back and sighed. 'I wish I could commandeer the Celsius. We'd make it to Sanubia Sands lickety split–' she snapped her fingers. '–just like _that_.'

'And you get seasick,' Gippal said cheekily.

'I do _not_!' She said loudly, startling a few nearby customers.

She had spent a lot of time on the sea over the years. Yes, even the hardiest sailor could still get sick on the rough seas west of the mainland, but she was _not_ one of them!

She opened her mouth to retort and he stood up. 'There's an Al Bhed ship in port. Let's see if it's headed to Bikanel.'

It was a moot point. Where else was one of _their_ ships going to be headed if not to open sea? The captain was a friend of Gippal's, and it suddenly occurred to Rikku just _how_ the people hired by the Machine Faction actually got over to Bikanel in order to actually dig for parts.

'_Nifty,'_ she thought.

The journey was not going to be a long one, considering the upgrades in propulsion systems these days, but they decided to take advantage of the few hours by spending it together, and alone.

It went without saying that an engine propelled ship would beat the sail boats that travelled between Besaid Island, Kilika Island, and Luca – the Winno and Liki – any day.

Below deck, Rikku and Gippal were both accustomed to this enclosed feeling, like they were trapped in a tin can, as they squeezed through the narrow passage ways toward the cabin that had been assigned to them. The internal layout of every Al Bhed ship was identical, so there was no way they were going to get lost, but a cabin boy had been instructed to see them to their compartment nonetheless.

Rikku supposed that people not used to these ships would get lost in these intersecting passageways. They were getting the "novice" treatment. She groaned inwardly at that.

But as soon as her aching feet were relieved of their duty, and she rested her head against Gippal's chest, she cared only that this sleeping berth was at least big enough for the both of them.

They were well rested and _very_ relaxed when the ship made port. It wasn't a city like in Luca, more like a small caravan set up by some of Nhadala's people and with the co-operation of a travelling Hypello salesman and his Shoopuf.

Rikku adjust her goggles and gripped Gippal tightly from behind. They rode on the back of hovers, holding on for dear life, as this area was regularly buffeted by draughts of sand, if not the big bad sandstorms themselves. It was no picnic spot that was for sure.

The second hover, transporting the other passengers from the ship was being operated by another child hood friend of Rikku's – Rhomeku. He had been the one Cid had wanted Rikku to end up marrying. It wasn't an arranged marriage, not really. Their parents had been friends since childhood and it was a hope. But they would never develop feelings for each other.

'_This is turning into a day of reunions,' _she thought to herself.

But that was what happened with an isolated community like the Al Bhed, who had been raised to keep to themselves – to their own people. They'd spent generations as pariahs, and mistreated by Yevon. So they knew how to keep things close to the vest. Even though they were now widely accepted, many still kept those ties, while others still, were exploring with the rest of Spira.

Tidus had been Rikku's first non-Al Bhed friend. She sighed. 'How much further?'

Gippal shifted in front of her, but it was the pilot who called over the roaring wind. _'An hour maybe!'_

She just about fell asleep on the back of the hover. Gippal's breathing was clear and deep in her ears, almost like a lulling effect. But the next thing she knew, he was helping her dismount, and Nhadala was greeting them, a concerned look on her face. She was not a grumpy person, her demeanour easy going, like most Al Bhed, but right now, she might as well have been screaming at the top of her lungs.

'_Bad news__,' _she said in Al Bhed. _'__We can't get any more parts in from any of the dig sites. Every team we send out there barely comes back alive. It would seem a combination of rampant fiends and erratic sand spurts is building up in Sanubia__.'_ She looked meaningfully at Rikku. 'I really hope you guys can do something.'

'I'll do it,' Rikku said enthusiastically. 'I'll have it done before the next sandstorm hits, you watch.'

Nhadala sighed and shook her head. _'__I hate sandstorms__.'_

'_Don't we all__,' _Gippal said heartily. _'__We'll take care of the fiends__.'_

She smiled at them. 'Great! Thanks! We'll be waiting here for you! You'll be expecting the usual fee I presume?'

He nodded. Rikku frowned. 'What's the usual fee?'

'A thousand gil of course,' Nhadala said. 'And I'll get the guys to whip up a feast, for when you're done, to say thanks.'

Gippal grinned widest at this. 'Deal.'

They headed out to the Central Expanse and he dragged his heels, noting how good Rikku was at fighting fiends. He remembered the battle with Vegnagun, how she, Yuna and Paine had defeated it so easily, at least compared to anything the rest of them had been able to do. It was a momentous fight, and Nooj and Leblanc and her goons were spirited, but not capable of handling a machina that powerful.

Gippal wondered, as he had often since then, exactly _how_ Rikku had gotten so good. Could it have happened three years ago, while accompanying Yuna on her pilgrimage?

Blow by blow, she out did him, and despite his manly pride, he couldn't help but love her even more for this. _This_ was the woman he intended to spend the rest of his life with. The wondrous, petite, and kick ass fiend hunter that was his lover.

'_Maybe I'm losing my edge,' _he thought, not complaining when Rikku showed him up.

The sand spurts it turned out, had been created by the fiends. Who knew? That many out there, constantly on the move and of course, deliberately stirring up trouble; it was chaos. Just another day, just another fun fact about Bikanel – the sand was a hot, scalding pain in the ass!

'Luckily, they weren't like that last one,' Rikku said, 'that Angry Mainyu. Now _that_ was a pain.'

They returned to the excavation camp hungry and smelling the food from over the last sand dune, Rikku was more excited about food than Gippal had seen her in months.

'Don't think I've forgotten what you promised,' she said, having wiped her mouth of any trace of her meal. He felt so content, just watching her hair flutter in the breeze, and fantasizing about what he was going to do to her the next time they were alone together.

'And what would that be?' Gippal asked, torn between apprehension and wonder.

Rikku poked his chest, feeling the rush of emotion he invoked in her rising fast. 'You still owe me lunch.'


End file.
